Worth School
Encyclopedia
Worth School, near the village of Turners Hill
, Crawley
, West Sussex
, England
, is a co-educational Roman Catholic boarding
and day independent school
for pupils aged between 11–18 years. The school is located with Worth Abbey
, a Benedictine
monastery
, in 500 acres (2 km²) of Sussex countryside. In 2011, the school numbers some 570 pupils, and over 200 staff.
was purchased by Downside Abbey
, Somerset
, a monastic community of the Benedictine Order. John Chapman, Abbot
of Downside, founded a dependent priory
, named Worth Priory, on the estate, with a Preparatory School
for boys aged 7 to 13. This school, set in the mansion house of Paddockhurst, was a junior school for the school at Downside. Having 60 pupils at foundation, numbers rose to 100 in 1939 when the school was evacuated and moved to Downside Abbey for the duration of the Second World War. In 1957 pupil numbers rose to 256, the school becoming the second largest preparatory school in the country.
In 1957, Worth Abbey
became independent from Downside, and shortly after this an independent senior school, Worth School, for boys aged 13 to 18, was founded (1959). The former Worth Preparatory School remained separate from the senior school and was progressively scaled-down until in 1965 it became The Junior House for boys aged 11 to 13.
Worth School remained exclusively a boarding school until the 1990s, when day students were first admitted, and two day houses were founded, one inheriting the name of Worth's founder, Chapman, the other named for its first Abbot, Farwell. Worth was the first English Benedictine school to combine the boarding and day traditions in this way.
In 2002, Worth School was established as a separate charity from Worth Abbey, with its own Board of Governors, with a lay Chairman. This was the first time that a Benedictine school in England had established a fully independent lay Board of Governors.
In 2005, the school was one of fifty UK private schools in breach of competition law
. In a ruling by the Office of Fair Trading
, these schools were required to pay a nominal penalty, and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments to a trust
.
Since 2008 Worth has been a co-educational school, and has correspondingly grown in size. Since the first cohort of girls entered the school in that year enrollment has grown. In 2011, the school numbered some 570 pupils of whom 120 were girls.
In March 2009, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary, with a special mass for the whole school community in Westminster Cathedral
. The school was welcomed by His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor and the mass was celebrated in the presence of His Excellency Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz
, Apostolic Nuncio
to Great Britain. It is the first time that a Benedictine school has ever assembled for such an occasion at Westminster Cathedral. The school choir performed a specially composed motet
by Colin Mawby
, a former Director of Music at the Cathedral and one of Britain’s leading liturgical composers.
In July 2009, racing driver Henry Surtees
, 18, had just finished his A-levels at Worth School, when he died in a tragic accident during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch, Kent. The school commemorated this popular former pupil by naming a school social centre in his honour, and by a cross channel swim to raise £15,000 for Sussex Air Ambulance, the Surtees family's nominated charity.
In 2011, extended sports facilities were opened, including the school's first astroturf, and work began on building a new boys' boarding house. In the same year, extensive refurbishment of the Abbey Church, used daily by the school for a wide variety of functions, created a unique environment for worship and reflection.The design was commended by the West Sussex County Council Design and Sustainability Scheme.
Turners Hill
Turners Hill is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The civil parish covers an area of , and has a population of 1,849 ....
, Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is a co-educational Roman Catholic boarding
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
and day independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
for pupils aged between 11–18 years. The school is located with Worth Abbey
Worth Abbey
The Abbey of Our Lady, Help of Christians, commonly known as Worth Abbey, is a community of Roman Catholic monks who follow the Rule of St Benedict near Turners Hill village, in West Sussex, England....
, a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, in 500 acres (2 km²) of Sussex countryside. In 2011, the school numbers some 570 pupils, and over 200 staff.
History of Worth
In 1933, the Paddockhurst country estate of Lord CowdrayWeetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray
Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray GCVO, PC , known as Sir Weetman Pearson, Bt, between 1894 and 1910 and as The Lord Cowdray between 1910 and 1917, was a British engineer, oil industrialist, benefactor and Liberal politician...
was purchased by Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey
The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation. One of its main apostolates is a school for children aged nine to eighteen...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, a monastic community of the Benedictine Order. John Chapman, Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of Downside, founded a dependent priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
, named Worth Priory, on the estate, with a Preparatory School
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
for boys aged 7 to 13. This school, set in the mansion house of Paddockhurst, was a junior school for the school at Downside. Having 60 pupils at foundation, numbers rose to 100 in 1939 when the school was evacuated and moved to Downside Abbey for the duration of the Second World War. In 1957 pupil numbers rose to 256, the school becoming the second largest preparatory school in the country.
In 1957, Worth Abbey
Worth Abbey
The Abbey of Our Lady, Help of Christians, commonly known as Worth Abbey, is a community of Roman Catholic monks who follow the Rule of St Benedict near Turners Hill village, in West Sussex, England....
became independent from Downside, and shortly after this an independent senior school, Worth School, for boys aged 13 to 18, was founded (1959). The former Worth Preparatory School remained separate from the senior school and was progressively scaled-down until in 1965 it became The Junior House for boys aged 11 to 13.
Worth School remained exclusively a boarding school until the 1990s, when day students were first admitted, and two day houses were founded, one inheriting the name of Worth's founder, Chapman, the other named for its first Abbot, Farwell. Worth was the first English Benedictine school to combine the boarding and day traditions in this way.
In 2002, Worth School was established as a separate charity from Worth Abbey, with its own Board of Governors, with a lay Chairman. This was the first time that a Benedictine school in England had established a fully independent lay Board of Governors.
In 2005, the school was one of fifty UK private schools in breach of competition law
Competition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
. In a ruling by the Office of Fair Trading
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
, these schools were required to pay a nominal penalty, and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments to a trust
Trust company
A trust company is a corporation, especially a commercial bank, organized to perform the fiduciary of trusts and agencies. It is normally owned by one of three types of structures: an independent partnership, a bank, or a law firm, each of which specializes in being a trustee of various kinds of...
.
Since 2008 Worth has been a co-educational school, and has correspondingly grown in size. Since the first cohort of girls entered the school in that year enrollment has grown. In 2011, the school numbered some 570 pupils of whom 120 were girls.
In March 2009, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary, with a special mass for the whole school community in Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
. The school was welcomed by His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor and the mass was celebrated in the presence of His Excellency Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz
Faustino Sainz Muñoz
Faustino Sainz Muñoz is a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Nuncio to Great Britain from 2004 until December 2010, having been appointed by Pope John Paul II in 2004.-Biography:...
, Apostolic Nuncio
Nunciature to Great Britain
The Nunciature to Great Britain is an ecclesiastical office of the Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio to the Court of St. James with the rank of an ambassador. The office of the nunciature is located...
to Great Britain. It is the first time that a Benedictine school has ever assembled for such an occasion at Westminster Cathedral. The school choir performed a specially composed motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
by Colin Mawby
Colin Mawby
Colin Mawby is an English organist, choral conductor and composer.-Career:Mawby received his earliest musical education at Westminster Cathedral choir school, where he acted as assistant to George Malcolm at the organ from the age of 12. The boys performed 14 or 15 services a week and had 10 hours...
, a former Director of Music at the Cathedral and one of Britain’s leading liturgical composers.
In July 2009, racing driver Henry Surtees
Henry Surtees
Henry John Surtees was a British racing driver and the son of John Surtees.-Formula BMW UK:Henry Surtees finished his debut season in the championship 7th in the overall points standings, and second in the Rookie Cup...
, 18, had just finished his A-levels at Worth School, when he died in a tragic accident during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch, Kent. The school commemorated this popular former pupil by naming a school social centre in his honour, and by a cross channel swim to raise £15,000 for Sussex Air Ambulance, the Surtees family's nominated charity.
In 2011, extended sports facilities were opened, including the school's first astroturf, and work began on building a new boys' boarding house. In the same year, extensive refurbishment of the Abbey Church, used daily by the school for a wide variety of functions, created a unique environment for worship and reflection.The design was commended by the West Sussex County Council Design and Sustainability Scheme.
Voluntary community service
Worth School has run a "Community Service Program" in association with Worth Abbey. Student volunteering at 2010:- Day Centre (for the elderly)
- Age Concern Shopping (for the elderly)
- Charity Shop assistance
- Flying Squad (garden tending)
- Soup Run (Brighton)
- Heatherly (Cheshire Home)
- Residential Homes for Elderly
- Chailey School (severely handicapped children)
- Fund raising (local and world projects).
- Recycling
- Primary School Support (local Junior School)
- Conservation (school and local)
- The Order of Malta Volunteers
Houses
- Austin (Yr 7 - 8) - Junior House
- Butler (Yr 9 - 12) - Senior Boarding House
- Chapman (Yr 9 - 12) - Senior Day House
- Farwell (Yr 9 - 12) - Senior Day House
- Gervase (Yr 13 only) - Upper Sixth House
- Rutherford (Yr 7 - 12) - Junior and Senior Boarding House (and Austin boarders)
- St. Anne's (Yrs 7, 9, 12 and 13) - Girls' Day House
- St. Bede's (Yr 9 - 12) - Senior Boarding House
- St. Mary's (Yrs 9, 12 and 13) - Girls' Boarding House
Notable Worthians
- Onochie AchikeOnochie AchikeOnochie Achike is an English athlete of Nigerian origin. He was born in Islington, London.A former rugby player, Achike eventually specialized in triple jump and won the gold medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games...
(Athlete) - Michael ArisMichael ArisMichael Vaillancourt Aris was a leading Western authority on Bhutanese, Tibetan, and Himalayan culture, and wrote numerous books on Buddhism in those regions. He was the husband of Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi....
(Academic/author) - Robert BathurstRobert BathurstRobert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
(Comedy actor) - David BellDavid Bell (publisher)Sir David Charles Maurice Bell was Director for People at Pearson Group and was Chairman of the Financial Times until the end of 2009. He is married with three children.-Education:Sir David was educated at Worth School...
(Knight) - John Chisholm (Knight)
- Dermot de TraffordDermot de TraffordSir Dermot Humphrey de Trafford, 6th Baronet, FRSA, VRD was a British banker, businessman and aristocrat. He was the son of Sir Rudolph de Trafford, 5th Baronet, and June Isabel Chaplin.-Early life and education:...
(Baronet) - Harry EnfieldHarry EnfieldHenry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
(Comedian) - Tim HutchingsTim HutchingsTimothy Hilton Hutchings is a former middle- and long-distance runner who represented England and Great Britain internationally.-Athletics career:...
(Athlete) - Austen IvereighAusten IvereighAusten Ivereigh is a Roman Catholic journalist, commentator and campaigner. In he became coordinator of the Citizen Organising Foundation's Strangers into Citizens campaign and associate editor of the online magazine Godspy....
(Journalist) - Sir Peter JonasPeter Jonas (director)Sir Peter Jonas, CBE, FRCM, FRNCM, FRSA, b.14 October 1946, is a British Arts Administrator and opera company director.-Career:Jonas studied at Worth School, and took an English Literature degree at the University of Sussex...
(Opera Director)
- Owen LeanRoadmageRoadmage is a street magic act created by magician and entertainer Owen Lean.Since 2002, Roadmage has been a fixture on Dublin's Grafton Street, London's Covent Garden, Granville Island in Vancouver and at club and festival venues...
(Magician) - Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. , also known as Bongbong Marcos is a Filipino politician and a senator to the 15th Congress. He is the only son of Ferdinand E. Marcos, the former president of the Philippines , and former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos...
(Politician) - Francis David Ormsby-Gore (Baronet)
- Jim PiddockJim PiddockJames Anthony "Jim" Piddock is an English actor, writer, and producer who began his career on the stage in England, before emigrating to the U.S. in 1981.-Life and career:...
(Actor/Writer/Producer) - Matt PrestonMatt PrestonMatt Preston is a British-Australian food journalist and restaurant critic. He is best known for his role as a judge on Network Ten's MasterChef Australia and his weekly food column in the Herald Sun 'Taste' supplement...
(Food writer) - Christopher PriceChristopher PriceChristopher Price may refer to:* Christopher Price , British radio and television broadcaster* Christopher Price , former British Labour Party Member of Parliament*Chris Price, English footballer...
(former BBC TV presenter and journalist) - Michael QuestierMichael QuestierMichael C. Questier is an English academic and historian.Questier studied at Worth School and Balliol College, Oxford. In 1991 he completed a D.Phil at the University of Sussex on early modern politico-religious history...
(Academic/author) - Michael SpencerMichael SpencerMichael Alan Spencer is a British businessman; the chief executive of ICAP plc, the world's largest interdealer broker...
(Businessman) - Henry SurteesHenry SurteesHenry John Surtees was a British racing driver and the son of John Surtees.-Formula BMW UK:Henry Surtees finished his debut season in the championship 7th in the overall points standings, and second in the Rookie Cup...
(Racing driver) - Nick WalsheNick WalsheNicholas Patrick James Walshe is a rugby union footballer who plays at scrum-half for Bedford Blues and England.Walshe moved from Saracens to Sale Sharks in 2002...
(Rugby Player) - Fernando Zobel de AyalaFernando Zobel de AyalaFernando Zóbel may refer to:* Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president of Ayala Corporation* Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo, artist...
(Businessman) - Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (Businessman)